Unexpected Love
by The-Unsent-Laugh
Summary: With Aang and Sokka gone, Katara weathers a harsh storm and comes in contact with a close enemy.
1. Stranded

I own nothing...as usual. Feel free to comment. I'd appreciate it. ) this is a Zutara fic...enjoy!

**Unexpected Love**

**Chapter 1: Stranded**

"Kay guys, dinner!"

"I hope it's not nuts again Sokka..."

"Uhh...it's not..."

"Then what is this?" Katara said as she picked up a nut and examined it.

"Umm...that's a...umm..."

"A nut Sokka."

"Hey! Well at least I gather food..."

"Yeah you also eat it all..."

"Okay guys calm down it's okay. I' m sure we can find something." Aang said trying to stop a fight between the siblings.

"Other than nuts I hope..." Katara said disgusted.

Sokka shot Katara a look of frustration.

"Come on Sokka, we'll look together." Aang said as he grabbed his staff.

"Okay." Sokka said with a sigh.

"Good, while you two are gone I'll get a fire going."

"Okay." Aang said as he smiled.

"Come on let's go Aang."

The boys walked off into the trees in the forest they had set up camp in. Katara gathered the necessaries for the fire and arranged them in the proper manner in the middle of the campsite. She put hand to her stomach as it growled with hunger.

" I hope they hurry...I'm getting really hungry..."

She looked up at the stars that danced in the sky above. She sighed and laid by the fire closing her eyes and listening to the sounds of the night.

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He stood on the deck of the ship keeping a sharp eye on the skies above him. The only thoughts running through his mind were of the avatar. He took a deep breath and rested his hands on the rail in front of him and sighed.

'Something wrong Prince Zuko?"

Zuko sighed again and looked out to sea lost in his own thoughts.

"No, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Would you like a soothing cup of tea to help calm your nerves?"

Zuko hissed with frustration.

"No...I'm going to go to bed. Please do not disturb me."

"All right" Iroh shrugged and walked away.

Zuko walked off heading towards his quarters. He opened the door and walked over to his bed. He paused a moment lost in thought, then he began to strip down to his pants, removing his armour carefully and placing it next to him. He stood up and walked over to a small altar he had set up to do his meditating at. He sighed and sat down in front of it. Zuko grunted and the began to meditate.

"I'll get you avatar..."

He became lost in his thoughts again. He closed his eyes and continued to meditate.

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Two hours had gone by before Katara woke up from the nap she had taken. Sokka and Aang weren't back yet. She was getting worried.

"I wonder where they are..."

Katara sleepily got up and walked over to where the boys had taken their leave.

"Sokka? Aang? You guys there?"

She looked around frantically.

"I wonder..."

Her thoughts trailed off into the darkness. She looked over at her canteen, which was empty, then looked back in the direction that the boys had left.

"I guess I'll go fill my canteen up...maybe I'll find them while I'm out there."

She made her way to the waters edge. It wasn't too far from the campsite. She walked up to the water and opened her canteen. She closed her eyes and concentrated on bending the water into the canteen. After a few minutes the canteen was full. She closed it off and looked around.

"Hmm...no sign of them here..."

Katara gasped at what her eyes had fallen upon. Huge dark storm clouds were forming in the sky. The stars were gone. She heard thunder and felt the air around her get heavier.

"I'd better find shelter."

Katara looked around quickly and spotted a small cave a few feet away from where she was standing. She ran inside of it and sat in the back huddle up against the wall.

"I hope Sokka and Aang are all right."

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Iroh looked up at the sky troubled. He silently turned away and walked towards his nephew's quarters. He knocked on the door.

Zuko stirred and finally woke up.

"What is it?" He said half asleep.

"Prince Zuko, there is sight of a terrible storm. It would be smart to anchor somewhere and wait the storm out."

"Whatever..." He mumbled.

He jumped at the loud thunder he had just heard. He threw the covers back put his armour on and made his way onto deck. He examined his environment. Men were scurrying around preparing for the worst. Zuko looked out to see and noticed that the waves were growing more violent as the time passed. He began to feel sick. The rough rocking of the boat made him feel even more uncomfortable than before. He stumbled over to the rail and grabbed onto it with both hands. He looked back out to sea and saw a huge wave forming. His eyes grew wide with fear.

"That wave is going to swallow us what should we do sir!" One of the men shouted at Zuko. He continued to watch the wave form.

"Sir!" The man shouted again.

"Prepare for the worst." Zuko heard his uncle say. He could hear the concern in his voice. He knew that the ship or the crew wouldn't make it through the storm, not this one.

The wave grew even bigger. Zuko watched it as it made its way toward the ship. It towered over the ship. Zuko heard men screaming and the sound of bodies hitting the water as they jumped over board. Then in an instant he felt himself gasping for air in the violent seas that he hated. His new found home that he had grown somewhat accustomed to. He felt his energy being pulled away from him. He closed his eyes and passed out.

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The storm ceased and Katara walked out of the cave she took cover in. She looked around to see if there was any sign of Aang or Sokka. There was no sign of them. She sighed.

She looked out to sea. The water was calm now and the air was heavy. She started to walk back to camp when she noticed something washed up on the shore. She cautiously walked up to it and rolled it over. She covered he mouth and gasped.

"Oh my...Zuko..." She laid a hand on his cheek and examined him.

"He's deathly cold. His ship must have been wrecked..."

She sat down next to him and pulled him into her lap. She closed her eyes and concentrated on bending the water that resided in the fire bender's lungs. She was successful. Zuko coughed and gasped for air. He opened his eyes faintly to see two large blue eyes looking into his.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Katara asked concern in her voice.

Zuko grunted, rolled out of her lap and sat up. He rubbed his head.

"Are you okay?" Katara reiterated.

"Yes, I'm fine." Zuko retorted.

He stood up and looked out to sea.

"Have you seen anyone else wash up on shore besides me?" He said continuing to rub his head.

"Sorry no...was your ship wrecked?"

"I suppose so...the last thing I remember was me going overboard and then I blacked out.."

Katara walked up to him cautiously.

"I was just heading back to my campsite to see what I can salvage, do you suppose we should stick together?"

"I...I don't know.."

He walked up the beach a few feet with Katara following close behind. She broke the silence.

"Have you see Aang or my brother?"

Zuko spun around to meet her gaze. He examined her. She was hugging herself for warmth they were both wet from the storm.

"Well?"

"No."

"Oh okay..."

"Where was your camp set up?"

"Over there." Katara pointed in the direction of her camp, or what was left of it.

Zuko walked towards the camp. Katara followed him. The campsite wasn't as bad as she thought it was. Everything was still there, but there was still no sign of Aang or Sokka.

Zuko examined the area.

"Well good everything is accounted for...you okay?"

She walked up to him. He was lost in his thoughts. He was so close to the avatar.

"Uh...yeah.." He said preoccupied.

"I'm a little worried...I haven't seen my brother or Aang since yesterday afternoon, and I'm really..."

"They'll be back." Zuko cut her off. He walked over to her and looked down at her.

"I...hope so..." She said nervously.

He looked past her into the trees. He walked over to the regarded area.

"This is the way they left?"

She nodded. He pushed past the trees and looked around. There was no sign of them. He shivered slightly.

Katara walked up to him and threw a blanket over his shoulders.

"Thanks..."

She smiled slightly at him. He quickly looked away and continued to look for her comrades.

"Are you helping me find them?"

"You could say that."

"I appreciate it...thanks."

Zuko continued the search. A few hours later it began to grow dark.

"Maybe we should find some place to settle down for the night..."

"Yeah good idea."

Katara gathered some wood and put it in a pile in the clearing they found. Zuko lit the fire while Katara gathered berries and whatever else she could find. Zuko sat down and began to remove his armour. Katara returned with a handful of berries. She stopped and watched him get comfortable and then spoke up.

"I found some berries..."

"Great..." Zuko said with disappointment.

"I know it's not much, but it's all there is right now..."

"I know that."

Zuko stood up and stretched.

"I wonder if my Uncle is okay."

"I'm sure he is.." Katara said reassuring.

"Yeah.."

He walked off to find a spot to train. Maybe it would take his mind off of things. Bending his element was one of the only ways to let out frustration and anger. Although each time he did bend, his dark past would come to mind and cripple him. He unleashed wave after wave of furious fireballs. Each one as furious as the next. Katara watched him in wonder.

"How is he doing that?" She thought to herself

He stopped and looked over to find her watching him. He walked over to her and waved a hand in front of her face. She blinked, snapping out of her deep thoughts. Katara giggled nervously.

"What were you staring at?" Zuko growled

"Nothing, I...wast just watching you..."

"Humph."

Zuko turned away and walked back towards the camp. Katara followed him pondering his power. He sat down and watched the girl stuff some berries into her mouth. She had innocence that he had lost years ago. He envied her. He laid down watching the dark skies above as if waiting for the answer to all of his problems to show up in the stars. He looked over at Katara who was now trying to warm herself by the fire. He sighed and walked over to her. He draped the blanket she had given him over her shoulders and wrapped it around her. She looked p at him contently.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Yeah..." Zuko returned to his spot and laid back down.

He closed his eyes and relaxed. He shivered slightly, but he knew that the blanket would benefit her more than him. He had done a good thing. Katara noticed his shiver and walked over to him. Zuko felt the warmth of another body settle closer to him. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see her laying there next to him. She threw the blanket over the two of them and cuddled closer to him for warmth. he put and arm around her and closed his eyes. That would be the best nights sleep they both would have in a long time.


	2. A Change of Heart

**I don't own anything. Thanks to all who reviewed. Sorry it took so long for Chapter 2. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy :)**

**Chapter 2: A Change of Heart**

Katara woke up the next morning feeling relieved. She rolled over to see if Zuko was still there. He was gone. Katara got up and stretched. She was wondering where Zuko had gone, and where her brother and Aang were. She wrapped her coat around herself and walked towards the water's edge. As she made her way to the shore she saw Zuko sitting in the sand letting the gentle caress of the waves hit him. His eyes were closed as if he were meditating. Perhaps he was, she didn't know for sure. She put a hand on his shoulder. He snapped out of his trance.

"Yes?" He grunted

"Just seeing if you're okay."

"I'm fine." He stood up.

"Are we going to continue to look for my brother and Aang?"

"I suppose we'd better find them shouldn't we?"

"Yeah..." She said nervously.

Zuko looked at her briefly and then made his way to the campsite. There he put on his armour and packed everything up that they had with them.

"What about eating?" Katara said while watching him pack.

He stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

"Do you see anything to eat anywhere?" He gestured.

"Well, no...but what about stopping somewhere?"

Zuko hissed, "And where exactly would we stop?"

"I...don't know...somewhere."

"The best thing for us to do right now is to get moving." He said while continuing to pack up.

"Okay." Katara said disappointed as she put a hand to her stomach.

Zuko threw everything over his shoulder and began to walk through the forest. They came to a clearing that had two paths, one going straight and the other going slight left.

"Which way?" Katara asked

Zuko examined his surroundings.

"Uh...straight...maybe..." He said unsure.

They continued to walk down the path. Neither of them spoke a word. Zuko was lost in his thoughts, and Katara was just afraid to say anything. She didn't want to get his temper going, although he seemed pretty calm. She finally broke the silence.

"There are a lot of trees..."

Zuko grunted.

"Do you think we'll find them?"

Zuko wasn't paying attention to her. He was thinking of ways to apprehend the avatar once they found him. He was so close and yet so far from his goal. Katara took Zuko's silence as a hint to stop talking, and that she did.

After walking for what seemed like hours to Katara, they came to a small quiet village. Katara ran ahead of Zuko to find something to eat. Zuko walked into the village and stopped to look around. He noticed that everyone was staring at him. He was from the fire nation after all. He didn't blame them for starring at him. Then again, he didn't like it. He walked over to Katara who was looking at a fruit stand. He tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to face him.

"Yes?"

"Get what you need quick and then we're leaving."

"Why? I'm kind of tired too we should stay here and rest."

"We need to keep moving." He said while scanning the village.

"Okay, I'll just be a minute."

He walked to the entrance of the village. On his way the people still starred a him. He tried to ignore them but their gazes pierced through him. He felt uneasy. Once outside the village he leaned up against a nearby tree. Waiting for Katara, he began to think again. What exactly would he do when he encounters the avatar. All of his previous attempts failed miserably.

Katara walked towards Zuko with a basket full of fruit in one hand, and a mango in the other. She looked at him. He seemed to be in deep thought. He had been thinking a lot lately. Disregarding this she tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped slightly.

"Are you ready?" She said with a mouthful of mango.

"Yeah.." He said as he turned and started to walk away.

The left the village and continued to walk straight through the forest. Zuko was glad they had left. The stares of those people were imbedded in his head. The constant thought of it got to him. He shook it off and continued walking, with Katara close behind munching on fruit. He stopped suddenly and Kartara, unaware that he had stopped, bumped into him.

"Hey, why did you stop?" She asked confused.

Zuko was looking at the ground. He saw footprints and a trail in the dirt that looked like some one was being dragged.

"Uncle..." He grew angry.

"You found him!"

Zuko notioned to the ground. Katara looked at the footprints and the trail in the dirt, and put two and two together. They followed the footprints to a large tree. Katara looked around. Something was familiar to her. Just then an arrow pinned the edge of Zuko's shirt to the tree next to him. He quickly pulled it out as some one jumped down from a tree and knocked him back several feet. He fell to the ground with a loud thud. Katara looked over at who had knocked Zuko over. She gasped. It was Jet.

In an instant Zuko was back on his feet and ready to fight. He unleashed wave after wave of fireballs. Each one missing the agile teenager. After the smoke from Zuko's blasts cleared jet was gone. Zuko relaxed and caught his breath.

"Take this you fire nation scum!"

Zuko looked up to see the teenager fly at him again. Zuko's eyes widened. He was too tired to move fast enough to evade the boy's attack. He did however, manage to knock the boy back with a blast of fire. The boy flew back and hit a tree. He got right back up and lunged towards Zuko. He tackled him to the ground and began to slash at him. Zuko blocked his blows but one caught his arm. It ripped his shirt and dug into his flesh. He hissed with pain, kicked the boy off, and obtained a standing base once again. He timed his blasts carefully. He overcame the boy who took refuge in the trees and was instantly gone.

Katara jogged over to Zuko with the basket of fruit still in her hand. Zuko, who was out of breath and holding his arm turned around and looked up into the trees. He began to climb the tree. Katara watched him from the ground. _"His uncle must be up there, why else would he do something this stupid."_ She thought. She looked up, waiting patiently. Just then she saw Zuko looking down at her.

"Wait there."

Katara nodded and sat up against the tree.

Zuko looked around the hut in the tree to find any traces of his uncle. He scanned the hut once again and walked toward the entrance.

"Zuko! Help me!" Iroh yelled.

Zuko smacked himself. "You were there the whole time!" He growled angrily as he began to untie his uncle.

"Yes, what are you, blind?"

"Tired." He grunted.

"Well let's get out of here and find some place to rest." Iroh stood up and put his hands in his robe.

"Right."

Zuko turned around and walked towards the entrance again. He looked down at Katara.

"Well, what are you waiting for... go.." Iroh shoved Zuko.

"Uncle!" Zuko lost his balance and fell out of the tree. He landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him.

Iroh peered out of the hut. "Oops, sorry."

He leapt out of the tree. Zuko's eyes widened.

"Uncle you're.."

Just then Iroh landed on Zuko. He yelped in pain.

"Well, thank you for catching me Zuko." He said with a smile on his face.

"...crushing ...me...air!" He muttered.

"Oh." Iroh got up quickly and helped his nephew up.

"Right, now that that is over let's go find a place to set up camp."

Iroh turned and made his way to another clearing that was located a few miles north of where they were. Zuko and Katara followed, he was still holding himself from the mishap and continued to walk. They made it to the clearing and Zuko lit a fire while Katara set up the beds and made herself comfortable. She walked over to Zuko who was sitting by the fire meditating. She sat next to him and looked at him. Iroh was making himself comfortable and getting ready to go to sleep. Zuko opened his eyes and looked at his uncle who was now laying on his side with his back to them. He was snoring away. Katara giggled.

"He sure does snore loud..."

"Yeah.." Zuko said shaking his head.

He didn't talk for a few minutes. He was trying to ignore his uncle's snoring, but it was impossible. He was just too loud.

"Okay, that's annoying." Zuko growled.

He got up and threw his blanket over his uncle's face. Katara laughed.

"You think that's funny don't you?" Zuko said

Katara nodded smiling and trying to hold back a laugh.

Zuko sighed and walked over to a tree and sat up against it. Katara grabbed her blanket and walked over to sit next to him. She wrapped the blanket around them and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Do you think my brother is okay?"

"Don't know." Zuko said staring into the darkness.

She cuddled closer to him. "I hope he is."

Nothing was said for a while. Zuko continued to stare, Iroh continued to snore and Katara continued to worry.

" I wouldn't worry too much, if the avatar is with him he will be fine."

"Yeah i guess you're right."

Katara looked up at him. He seemed different. She didn't consider him an enemy anymore. Something about him had changed, she knew it. She sat up and looked at Zuko. His eyes said something different. They were different from the time she had seen them when she was running away from the pirates. In an instant something came over her and she leaned up to him and kissed him. Zuko was a little shocked but then he closed his eyes and cherished the moment. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. It may be his first and last time getting close to her. She hugged him tight and closed her eyes. He did the same. After a few minutes all was calm and he fell asleep.


	3. UpdateAuthor's Note

Update:

This is just to let you all know that the story is not over, and I did not forget about it. To those of you who have read and submitted reviews thanks a bunch I really appreciate them. I will hope fully have a big update on this story within a few weeks. Sorry for the wait and thanks for hangin in there

The-Unsent-Laugh


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